Lectures

Shelter for thousands of birds

An educational lecture about wetlands and the work of ornithologists in the nature reserve "Zhuravlinaya rodina" (Crane homeland) of the Taldom District was held at the Blokhintsev Universal Library.

A report was given by a junior researcher at the A.N.Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a researcher at the Bird Banding Centre specializing in diurnal birds of prey and owls, the graduate of Dubna University Anastasia Pedenko. Anastasia has been volunteering at the nature reserve "Zhuravlinaya rodina" since 2016. Her report introduced the participants to the diverse scientific work of our neighbors, interesting facts about the world around us and the birds that are difficult to spot in the wild.

Wetland - a source of blessings and beauty

There's a stereotype that wetlands are eerie, lifeless bogs that serve only as Halloween decorations. A place you wouldn't want to be, inconvenient and unnecessary. In reality, wetlands are quite different. They are a true source of blessings and beauty.

Their inaccessibility makes this area a valuable habitat for animals, birds and plants that find solitude and peace here. More than a hundred bird species inhabiting the European part of Russia are associated with wetlands. They spend all or part of their lives here. They perform mating rituals and raise their young here. They hide during molting. They rest during migration. They find food.

For people, bogs are a source of beneficial berries and plants. They are used in folk crafts and as medicinal herbs. Bog moss (sphagnum) is used to make peat cups for seedlings. It is also used to create living conditions for reptiles and as insulation for some buildings.

Peat is a true treasure of bogs. At one time, it became the main source of fuel for power plants. But there is a downside. Firstly, peat extraction results in drainage of bogs that means some living creatures lose their habitat. Secondly, there is the problem of peat fires.

After all, the peat has been excavated, there remains good soil that can be used for livestock farming, agricultural land and house construction. Therefore, during the Soviet era, drainage began to be done with a reserve for the future. The plan was to both obtain peat and to utilize the land. But the war broke out and the drained areas were abandoned. It subsequently resulted in major peat fires in the summers of 1972 and 2010.

Peat fires can be aboveground or underground. Sometimes, an underground fire can spread to the surface. When it is only underground, the roots of all plants and trees are scorched that afterwards die and invisible pits form in the ground. Extinguishing peat fires is incredibly difficult.

Marshes are nature's buds. A giant sponge of moss and peat which polluted water passes through and emerges perfectly clean. The moss kills bacteria and traps dust particles and other suspended matter, including heavy metals. The filtered water may not be the most attractive color but it is clean and fresh. The world currently faces freshwater shortages. Marshes contain up to 3% of the world's freshwater reserves. Only glaciers and freshwater lakes have more. In regions without readily available freshwater, marshes can be a great help. A well in a summer cottage near a marsh will never dry up, as marshes share their water sources with nearby rivers and lakes, creating underground runoff. If a marsh is drained, problems arise: lands and wells dry out. During spring floods, there is a risk of flooding because excess water accumulates that the marsh would otherwise absorb.

Wetlands can be called the lungs of the planet. They absorb greenhouse gases and release oxygen that they don't consume and it remains concentrated there. Carbon is also accumulated and stored here until humans come along and want to use it as fuel.

Wetlands also have great aesthetic value. They have more than once served as subjects for paintings by A.K.Savrasov, I.I.Shishkin and I.I.Levitan. In literature, wetlands are described in paintings by V.V.Bianki and M.M.Prishvin. Documentaries and exhibitions are dedicated to wetlands. One of the major exhibition projects "Wetland investigations" was organized in 2024. It was developed by the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and National Research Tomsk State University, with the support of SIBUR.

Today, swamps become attractive for ecotourism. A special term has emerged: "swamping". Demand for it has increased since the 2020 pandemic. It's believed that people yearn for nature. They are delighted by this interest in the nature reserve "Zhuravlinaya rodina". However, they state that it's important to do everything properly. Walking should be done on special platforms to avoid trampling the moss and numerous other sensitive plant species.

About how a wetland becomes a protected area

Marshes in the Moscow Region occupy about 2% of the entire region's territory. It is estimated that before widespread development, this figure could have reached 10%. The largest number of marshland areas are in the north and northeast of Moscow, in the immediate vicinity of Dubna. The value of this area has long been known. However, this knowledge has long eluded conservation efforts.

In the 1920s, the writer Mikhail Prishvin visited our region and wrote the story "Zhuravlinaya rodina". He tried to convey the idea of moving from swamp development to reserving. The name of the Taldom Nature Reserve derives from this story.

When the crane population began declining worldwide due to wetland development, the idea of rectifying the situation arose. They began searching for places where cranes still congregated, wintered and nested. One such place was located here, on the territory of what is today a nature reserve. Information about it reached the volunteer Nature Conservation Team. In the 1970s, due to the work of this team, enough data was accumulated to establish protected areas in this territory. Thus, on 7 September, 1979, the first reserve that is part of the "Zhuravlinaya rodina" (Crane homeland) was established.

Currently, the total area of the protected territories is 11,000 hectares. The Protected Complex Area "Zhuravlinaya rodina" includes 11 more nature reserves and natural monuments. The nature reserve is included in the pan-European catalogue of Important Bird Areas of International Importance (IBA) and is also included in the Dubna Wetlands Reserve List of the Ramsar Convention.

About what volunteers are engaged in at the "Zhuravlinaya rodina"

Volunteers perform a variety of activities. They prevent and fight fires within the reserve. Peat fires and spring fires - the deliberate burning of grass to quickly remove all debris from the ground are also problems. Despite the ban, spring fires are still popular. They not only harm animals, birds and the soil but also destroy entire villages.

Volunteer nature conservation teams work within the nature reserve as forest firefighters. They are skilled, know about fire safety procedures and train volunteers in them. They have a special tower which they monitor fire hazards from. Volunteers carry out educational activities, traveling to villages to give lectures and promote responsible attitudes toward nature.

Like any nature reserve, the "Zhuravlinaya rodina" faces poaching and its staff works hard to prevent it and prosecute those responsible.

Extensive outreach efforts are underway: ecological trails are created, topical excursions are held and holidays and festivals are held around specific topics, such as owls or cranes. Local folklore is also researched and folk festivals are celebrated. The nature reserve boasts Baba Yaga's hut and a museum of poisonous plants, including those growing in swamps.

A great deal of time and effort goes into cleaning. The nature reserve is open to the public and visitors often leave behind trash that needs to be cleaned up. The nature reserve's staff are very grateful to the volunteers who come to help, as the amount of trash sometimes accumulates to such an extent that KamAZ trucks are needed to remove it.

Scientific research is also carried out at the nature reserve. Since it was created at the initiative of ornithologists, most of the research is focused on birds. However, there is also room for zoology, botany, marsh investigations and even folklore research.

About the birds supported by ornithologists

The symbol of the Taldomsky District is the common crane. The reserve's territory emerged as the site of the largest congregation of cranes in central Russia. Up to three thousand birds stay here to rest. In comparison, in other parts of the Moscow Region, this number does not exceed two hundred. In the reserve, the cranes not only rest but also breed and their numbers are monitored and counted. The birds are tagged with special rings on their legs and GPS trackers. This data allows us to estimate how and where the birds move, whether there are new wintering sites and the timing of nesting and migration.

An important aspect of this work is understanding where birds face the greatest danger and how to help them to navigate safely. This issue is particularly acute for cranes. Crane hunting is not traditional in our culture. However, during migration, they fly through African and Arab countries, where hunting is traditional. Hunters often boast of their catches on social media and the number of birds killed exceeds food needs. In Russia and around the world, this issue is actively discussed and effective measures to help cranes are developed.

Various anseriformes also find rest in the "Zhuravlinaya rodina". There are many species and even more birds. This is a traditional hunting industry in our country. They are often shot widely during migration, when the birds, exhausted and hungry, have survived the arduous migration and try to return to their breeding grounds. The same thing happens in autumn with the newly fledged birds. In the "Zhuravlinaya rodina", hunting is prohibited even during the generally accepted hunting season and the birds can rest here.

The ornithological community vigorously campaigns against hunters. A ban on spring hunting is actively promoted. It benefits the hunters themselves, as it encourages as many birds as possible to return and hatch as many chicks as possible. The shooting should not harm the population.

The waders, a group of small, long-legged and long-billed birds that are abundant in our area face challenges. Firstly, they are also traditionally hunted. Secondly, they suffer from the drainage of marshes, as they lose their habitat. Thirdly, they have begun to inhabit agricultural fields in the "Zhuravlinaya rodina", where tractors can crush the birds into the soil. The reserve advises nearby farmland owners on how to manage their land to ensure the survival of the waders, especially, rare ones like the curlew.

Almost all wader species are under some form of protection. There are several species that are particularly actively protected. For example, the Eurasian curlew is the largest wader and is listed in the IUCN Red List. The black-tailed godwit is listed in the Red Book of Russia and the Moscow Region. These birds are captured and ringed.

During the Soviet period, conservation efforts were more meticulous: they knew when to mow hay, when to plow fields and how to prevent agricultural machinery from interfering with nesting birds. For example, waders can walk immediately after hatching, meaning they can escape. While they're in their eggs, they're tied to a specific territory and cultivating the land must wait. After the collapse of the USSR, a large scientific gap opened up and many traditions and methods weren't even lost but simply shelved. No one's in a hurry to get them out...

Another bird we attached a transmitter to is a great snipe. It's the size of a pigeon but it flies from the "Zhuravlinaya rodina" practically all the way to Africa. Such a small creature can cover such distances! I want this hero to be welcomed back to his natural habitat and to feel safe.

Birds of prey in marshes - research challenges and peculiarities

Another aspect of Anastasia Pedenko's work is monitoring raptor populations. There are about 36 species in our region. The lecture focused on those the lives of which are related to marshes.

The short-eared owl, marsh harrier, osprey, greater spotted eagle and short-toed eagle are somewhat mysterious because little is known about them. But they exist and need protection. They settle in the very depths of the marsh, where they quietly raise their young, never making a sound.

The greater spotted eagle is listed on the IUCN Red List. Its numbers decline greatly because it lives exclusively in marshes and cannot migrate to other areas. The short-toed eagle is a large eagle that feeds on snakes. Reptiles are scarce here, as it is cold here, unlike in the tropics. But even with such meager food supplies, the short-toed eagle manages to thrive. Only two short-toed eagles nest in the 11,000-hectare reserve. There are up to five greater spotted eagles, up to 80 short-eared owls, 20 marsh harriers and one osprey.

Staff at the "Zhuravlinaya rodina" climbed into the trees to the nests of the greater spotted eagles and were able to mark them with rings and tags. It allowed them to learn more about this bird. Generally, the easier it is to reach a bird, the more information is available, while less is known about hard-to-reach birds, including how to help them.

Large birds of prey are often considered pests, they steal ducks, chickens and pigeons and therefore should be shot and poisoned. This view is shared by people across Eurasia. However, the situation is different in Arab countries: there, birds of prey are captured for falconry. Arabs have managed to incorporate all large and even small birds of prey into this practice. It's not uncommon for staff at the reserve to recognize tagged birds in market photos on social media; sometimes, they even leave their transmitters on. They have to be bought and sometimes, the new owners accommodate and proudly release the birds. This is a complex international practice and it also needs to be addressed in the reserve.

It's good when birds have a place to nest when they return to the reserve. For example, an osprey nested in the same tree in the reserve for 15 years but after a peat fire, the tree fell and the nest was damaged. If the bird has no place to nest, it will fly away and likely never return. To prevent such situations, bird platforms are installed in treetops. They are large and heavy, the size of a grand piano and not every tree can support them. Finding suitable ones becomes difficult in many places, for various reasons, such trees become increasingly rare. To avoid the substitution being obvious, the installation is done in winter. The bird should see a vacant home and stay. The question is: why to build nests for birds instead? The fact is, birds of prey prefer to find ready-made housing, including borrowing someone else's.

Long-eared owl nests are replaced with baskets. Ural owls (a fairly aggressive owl) use nest boxes made of wood; they are large and heavy and a suitable tree must also be found for them. A combination of factors is essential: a good tree, a good biotope (an area of land or water with relatively uniform conditions for the organisms living there - Ed.) and ideally, an owl's nest. To achieve it, the reserve explores the area, goes out at night to listen for owls to estimate their habitat and only then erects a nest box for them.

"The volunteer team works at "Zhuravlinaya rodina" on their own initiative, unpaid," Anastasia concluded her lecture. "We are driven by love, respect and a desire to preserve the natural environment of this region. We have a wealth of useful information that we are happy to share with new volunteers and visitors to the reserve. We are open to dialogue and collaboration."

Maria KARPOVA, photo by the author